Egg of Li Chun

Egg balancing is a traditional Chinese practice that has since been popularized in the United States. Although the irregular shape of eggs makes this somewhat difficult, eggshells typically have many imperfections such that the vast majority can be balanced with minimal effort. Despite folklore connecting this practice to the lunar new year in China, the Dragon Boat Festival in Taiwan and the vernal equinox in the United States, egg balancing can be done throughout the year and has no connection to the gravitational force of the moon or sun.

Egg balancing has been connected with Lichun, the solar term beginning Chinese spring () on February 4 or 5 when the sun is at the celestial longitude of 315°. On this day, fresh chicken eggs were balanced on their broad end. In Taiwan, the practice is sometimes connected with the Dragon Boat Festival instead, on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.

A 1945 Life article reported on "an egg-balancing craze" among the population of Chungking (the interim capital of China during World War II) on that year's Lichun. That article and subsequent follow-ups started a similar egg-balancing craze in the United States, but transposed to the vernal equinox beginning Western spring on March 20 or 21 when the sun is at the celestial longitude of 0°. The idea that an egg is easier to balance on the spring equinox has since become an American urban legend, and egg-balancing events are sometimes held on that date. In 1976, New York artist and urban shaman Donna Henes started organizing egg-balancing ceremonies with the stated goal of bringing about world peace and international harmony. These events, which often drew thousands of people, are still held annually by Henes in New York City.

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